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Dunn placed on waivers

The Nationals have placed first baseman Adam Dunn on waivers Tuesday, according to a source outside of the Nationals organization.

A player exposed to waivers can be claimed by any team, and if there are multiple claims, the player would be offered to the team with the worst record. At that point, a team has 48 hours to either try to work out a trade with the claiming club or remove the player from waivers. A player can only be pulled back from waivers once, but if he clears waivers either the first or second time through, a team can attempt to trade him to any club.

“There is always a possibility [we could make a trade before that date],” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said about the Aug. 31 deadline. “We are always looking to do our jobs and improve the ballclub. When contenders are interested in your players, it means you have playoff-caliber players on your team that people want.”

The big unknown is if Dunn will sign an extension before Aug. 31. Dunn hopes so, but his price may be too high. He is asking for a four-year deal, but he is willing to listen to a three-year offer.

Entering Tuesday’s action against the Diamondbacks, Dunn is hitting .276 with 26 home runs and 67 RBIs for Washington.

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